Democrats can groan and moan about the election results, but bottom line is: it does no good to cast blame on the tea party or rich people for this result. Getting lost in the blame game takes the focus of what we must do as Democrats and Independents to move the country back to the reasonable center, politically.

Another way of saying this is to assert that it is self-defeating to adopt the victim role. This way of thinking can lead to apathy and disengagement from social action and political engagement.

We must focus upon what we must do as individual citizens to bring back a level playing field in D.C.

The fact is, in my view, that the Republican Party has sold out completely to the radical right and unprincipled rich. (Not everyone on the right, not every rich person, is unprincipled, of course.) But whatever the case is politically, we must focus on what we can do as individuals to advance our political goals, making sure that the tactics we employ are above board. We must do all we can to counter gerrymandering and unreasonable voting restrictions. Social justice writers must write. Social justice. on-the-ground activists must do their thing. Phone bankers must work twice as hard. Party leaders must be called to task when they fail to provide adequate support. The media must be confronted when it presents a biased or sensationalistic viewpoint–just to stimulate ratings.

But wallowing in recrimination, or even guilt, must stop, or we will not move forward politically. I am sure that many on the Democratic side could have exerted much more effort. In North Carolina, which sports a population with moderate sentiment very much in evidence, there is no reason why Democrats cannot advance on the state level, politically.

Just as in our personal lives, we must take personal responsibility for our mishaps. No matter what we face of a noxious nature in our immediate environment, we need not lose our motivation to make constructive changes, personally and in terms of our political and social justice action.

I honestly think that grassroots people can do more than the professional politicos to revive the hopes of those who wish to advance the fortunes of the Democratic Party. Organization Democrats must exert every effort to solicit feedback from the rank and file on tactics to be employed in local and national races